NOLI ME TANGERE, 1887 (page 87)

their bodies (his and Sisa’s) were to be burned to ashes. It was Christmas eve, and the moon
gleamed softly in the sky. Basilio prepared the funeral pyre. As life’s breath slowly left his body,
Elias looked toward the east and murmured; “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my
native land! You, who have it to see, welcome it – and forget not those who have fallen during
the night!”
The novel has an epilogue which recounts what happened to the other characters.
Maria Clara, out of her loyalty to the memory of Ibarra, the man she truly loved, entered the
Santa Clara nunnery. Padre Salvi left the parish of San Diego and became a chaplain of the
nunnery. Padre Damaso was transferred to a remote province, but the next morning he was
found dead in his bedroom. Capitán Tiago, the former genial host and generous patron of the
church became an opium addict and a human wreck. Doña Victorina, still henpecking poor Don
Tiburcio, had taken to wearing eyeglasses because of weakening eyesight. Linares, who failed to
win Maria Clara’s affection, died of dysentery and was buried in Paco cemetery.
The alferez, who successfully repulsed the abortive attack on the barracks, was
promoted major. He returned to Spain, leaving behind his shabby mistress, Doña Consolacion.
The novel ends with Maria Clara, an unhappy nun in Santa Clara nunnery – forever lost
to the world.
The “Noli” Based on Truth. The Noli Me Tangere, unlike many works of fictional
literature is a true story of Philippine conditions during the last decades of Spanish rule. The
places, the characters, and the situations really existed. “The facts I narrate there,” said Rizal,
“are all true and have happened; I can prove them.”
Th characters – Ibarra, Maria Clara, Elias, Tasio, Capitán Tiago, Padre damaso, Padre
Salvi, etc. – were drawn by Rizal from persons who actually existed during his times. Maria Clara
was Leonor Rivera, although in real life she became unfaithful, unlike the heroine of the novel,
and married and Englishman. Ibarra and Elias represented Rizal himself. Tasio the Sage was his
elder brother, Paciano. Padre Salvi was identified by Rizalists as Padre Antonio Piernavieja, the
hated Augustinian friar in Cavite who was killed by our patriots during the Revolution. Capitán
Tiago was Capitán Hilario Sunico of San